Purpose/Objectives: This study assessed current practices and attitudes of school nutrition program (SNP) management staff regarding free and reduced-price (F-RP) meal application and verification in SNPs. Methods: Stratified, randomly selected 1,500 SNP management staff in 14 states received a link to an online questionnaire and/or a printed…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other institutional settings. The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to…

Over the past few years, New Jersey schools have achieved significant progress in providing breakfast to more low-income students, with a 55 percent increase from 2010 to 2014. However, in May 2014, 49 New Jersey school districts with high levels of poverty continued to lag in providing breakfast to their students. This two-page report lists…

This brief uses data from the 2013 Current Population Survey's Food Security Supplement to document levels of participation in two of the largest programs authorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010--the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program--by region and place type (rural, suburban, and city), to identify…

The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. Summaries of recently completed research projects and in-progress research are provided in this article.

The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. Summaries of recently completed research projects, research conducted through grant activities, and in-progress research are…

Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 made the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) available to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and schools in high poverty areas. Under the CEP, families are not required to submit applications for free or reduced-price meals, and schools must provide free lunch and breakfast to…

This report presents findings from the Access Evaluation, a study component that is designed to assess the potential impacts of direct certification-Medicaid (DC-M) on students' access to free school meals by conducting retrospective simulations of DC-M in school year 2011-2012, the year before the demonstration began. For the Access Evaluation,…

Often, school districts are reluctant to adopt innovative approaches to serving children breakfast in school because of logistical concerns that are easily overcome. Districts that adopt these more innovative approaches report significant increases in participation rates and improvement in student behavior and performance. This report provides…

Led by Advocates for Children of New Jersey and the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition, the NJ Food For Thought School Breakfast Campaign is driven by a statewide steering committee that includes the New Jersey Departments of Agriculture, Education and Health, anti-hunger and health groups and New Jersey's major education associations. The…

Background. Family homes are a key setting for developing lifelong eating and physical activity habits, yet little is known about how family home nutrition and physical activity (FNPA) environments influence food insecurity (FI) and childhood obesity, particularly in rural settings. Aims. This study examined associations among FNPA, FI, and body…

Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 made the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) available to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and schools in high poverty areas. Under the CEP, families are not required to submit applications for free or reducedprice (FRP) meals, and schools must provide free lunch and breakfast…

Purpose/Objectives: Analyses were conducted to examine variations in fourth-grade children's participation in school-breakfast and school-lunch programs by weekday, month, socioeconomic status, absenteeism, gender, and school-breakfast location. Methods: Fourth-grade children were participants in a dietary-reporting validation study during either…

The Great Recession and its immediate aftermath have brought increasing attention both to food insecurity among children and to the associated food safety net. This report examines how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) functions as a component of the broader food assistance safety net for school-age children, focusing on…

The federal government devotes roughly one-sixth of its spending to 10 major means-tested programs and tax credits, which provide cash payments or assistance in obtaining health care, food, housing, or education to people with relatively low income or few assets. Those programs and credits consist of the following: (1) Medicaid; (2) the low-income…